Qatar gets further 48 hours to agree to demands

RIYADH, July 3, 2017

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have agreed to extend for 48 hours the deadline given to the Government of Qatar to accept their list of demands to lift a blockade, media reports said.

The move came after a request by the emir of Kuwait HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah, who is acting as mediator in the Gulf crisis, according to a joint statement issued by the official Saudi SPA news agency.

The Kuwaiti government had requested the extension following Qatar’s announcement that it was due to hand over its response to the emir on Monday.

The four countries' reply will be sent after studying and evaluating the Qatari Government's response to the complete list of demands, reported Wam, the Emirates official news agency.

Meanwhile, Egypt said on Sunday that foreign ministers from the four boycotting countries would meet in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss Qatar, without providing further details, according to a report in Arab News.